


Bound

by atir8891



Series: Prison one-shots [2]
Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Based on spoilers, Feelings, M/M, Miscommunication, Prison, Season/Series 10, Season/Series 10 Spoilers, Talking Shit Out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-13
Updated: 2019-11-13
Packaged: 2021-01-29 16:50:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21413455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/atir8891/pseuds/atir8891
Summary: Ian and Mickey get caught trying to stab Chester. They get the chance to talk and resolve a few miscommunication problems.
Relationships: Ian Gallagher/Mickey Milkovich
Series: Prison one-shots [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1570444
Comments: 12
Kudos: 124





	Bound

**Author's Note:**

> So this is me trying to construct a narrative based on promos and previews we got for episodes 2&3 (I think!) of season 10. This is not my prediction for what will happen in canon, it's mostly derived from my own headcanons and discussions I've seen or participated in on tumblr. Also I got the inspiration from those pictures/clips where we see them hancuffed to a bench, so that's where they are in this fic

Ian turns to look in Mickey’s direction, for what feels like the thousandth time since they’ve been handcuffed in this room. It feels like they’ve been in here for hours, and the never-ending silence is really starting to irritate him, so he finally speaks. “Would you at least look at me?”

Mickey does turn to look at him, but it’s only to fix him with an angry glare for a few seconds, his eyebrows high on his forehead. Then he goes back to look at the same spot he was staring at before, trying to ignore Ian. The redhead rolls his eyes, annoyed that his boyfriend won’t just talk to him, hear what he has to say, or at least yell at him… _something._

Annoyance soon turns into sadness and regret, and an overwhelming need to make Mickey understand where he’s coming from and to ask his forgiveness. “I’m sorry,” Ian says. “It seemed like a good idea at the time, you know, to stab Chester and get sent to solitary so we could get some space from each other. But I clearly fucked everything up. Again. ‘Cuz now you’re even more pissed at me than before and you won’t even talk to me. I just want us to be okay again, Mick,” Ian concludes with sadness in his tone.

But Mickey is too angry to notice. He sits there in total disbelief and confusion listening to Ian’s words, eyebrows knitted together and mouth slightly parted as he tries to breathe through his fury, until Ian finishes speaking. “Of course I’m fucking pissed at you, you were trying to fucking dump me and you were using stupid lame-ass excuses to do it!”, he says, still not really looking Ian in the eyes, afraid he’s going to lose it if he does.

“Jesus, Mickey, I was _not_ trying to dump you! I never said that!”, defends Ian, beginning to get a little worked up himself.

“You said you wanted a fucking break! You want a break from me, huh, Ian? As if I’m fucking loving being locked up with your annoying ass day in, day out in this fucking shithole!” Mickey is fuming, but he regrets his words as soon as they leave his mouth. Sure, Gallagher can be really fucking annoying, but Mickey does love spending time with him in their cell, on a good day. Well, he loves the fucker, so that’s no surprise. And that probably also explains why he still doesn’t want to hurt the asshole’s feelings, despite being all kinds of angry at him for wanting to abandon him.

Ian does look pretty hurt by Mickey’s words and harsh tone, and Mickey is inexplicably feeling the strong urge to comfort him, even though he’s supposed to be mad at the prick. He’s about to say something to keep the conversation going, because he can’t stand to see Ian hurt like that, but Ian’s the first to speak again.

“Mick, I’m sorry. It’s exactly ‘cause we were annoying each other that I suggested a temporary separation. You know, to give each other some space, so that when we saw each other again we would have calmed down and gotten some perspective. I don’t wanna be away from you, Mick. I’m dreading the day they’re gonna let me out and you’ll still have to be here for fuck knows how long.” Mickey is stunned into silence. He’s looking Ian in the eyes now, seeing the wetness there and feeling all kinds of emotions bubbling up within himself after hearing Ian’s words. He lets Ian continue, not able to formulate any kind of speech right now, anyway. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you all this before. Maybe if I did, you wouldn’t have assumed I was trying to break up with you. I know I’ve given you plenty of reasons to think I’m gonna abandon you. That’s on me. But please believe me when I tell you I have no intention of doing that again. I wanna do everything I can to make sure we’re together. In here, out of here… I just want us to be happy. That’s the only reason why I suggested a solution to avoid us killing each other.” He’s smiling a bit now, though his eyes are still wet. “Even though it was a really stupid fucking idea, as it turns out”, he adds with a low chuckle, trying to ease some of the tension.

There’s a long moment when they just look into each other’s eyes, seeing in there all the fear, sadness and regret they’re both feeling, but maybe just a hint of hope, too. Definitely a lot of love. Finally Mickey finds his voice again, despite being overwhelmed by the emotions he’s experiencing. “I’m sorry too, Ian. I guess we still have a lot of shit to sort through, you know, ‘cause of what happened between us in the past. I guess I’m not as over all of that as I thought. It’s just, I don't know... When we first got here we were living in a sort of bubble. Yeah, it was fucking prison, but it was just the two of us again, and it seemed like the world couldn’t get to us like it could when we were out. It was like a vacation from all of our problems. Weird that this shithole could be that for us, but that’s what it felt like. And I guess now, with you getting the chance to be released soon and me having to stay, I s’ppose I’m getting antsy, ‘cause I don’t know what’s gonna happen to us, man. The world is gonna try to fuck with us again, and I’m just worried that something better might come along and you’ll finally open your eyes after all this time you spent in here, thinking you wanted to be with me.” Mickey hates feeling like this. Vulnerable. Jealous. Insecure. Afraid. He doesn’t want to be a pussy. He doesn’t want to admit he’s scared, but then again, if there’s one person he feels somewhat comfortable opening up like this to, it’s Ian. So fuck it. He’s gonna risk acting like a little bitch on this one.

But Ian’s got that gentle, loving smile on his face. The one that makes Mickey feel in his bones that everything will be alright after all, despite him having been raised to believe since birth that he was fucked for life and that his existence would be a constant stream of violence, neglect and disappointment. Ian makes him hopeful that something better might be part of his future. Ian makes him happy, pure and fucking simple.

“It’ll be me and you against the world when we get out of here too, Mick. And I know you have no reason to believe me, but I _will_ wait for you this time. Nothing better will come along, ‘cause there is nothing… _no one_, better for me than you. My eyes are wide open, trust me. And they see, very clearly, that you’ve always been the one for me. You make me happy, Mick, like no one else ever could. Even when you’re annoying the fuck out of me,” he concludes with a low chuckle.

Mickey gives a light laugh, too, but he doesn’t take his eyes off Ian. He couldn’t do it, even if for some bizarre reason he wanted to. Ian’s big green eyes are hypnotic. He realizes he hasn’t looked into those eyes for days, and he’s not sure how he was able to survive without it for so long. Without seeing that love and fondness reflected in them. And Ian’s smile is so sincere and beaming with happiness that Mickey suddenly can’t think of why he was mad at him in the first place. He cannot fathom how he could doubt for a second that Ian loves him and wants to be with him. Perhaps it’s his own deep-rooted insecurities, or maybe it’s because of Ian leaving him behind in the past. But dwelling on the past isn’t going to do either of them any good. They’ve both made mistakes, they’ve both hurt each other. What matters is they’re here now, trying to be better than they were in the past and willing to do anything in their power to make their relationship work. And Mickey realizes that’s important to Ian as much as it is to him. He believes it. He’s not the only one fighting here. Ian is fighting for them to work things out too. And together, Mickey is sure they can do anything. He has absolutely no doubts about that.

“So… are we okay?” Ian asks, seemingly still unsure, probably because Mickey has been staring at him lovingly but hasn’t uttered a word in several minutes.

“Yeah, man, we’re okay,” Mickey says, giving Ian a big, happy smile that reflects exactly how he feels. “I just wish we weren’t handcuffed like this.”

“Otherwise we’d go straight to the make-up sex?” Ian asks, with a raised eyebrow and a sexy smirk on his lips.

“Jesus, would you get your mind out of the gutter?” Mickey laughs lightly, a playful smile on his face. “I meant I wish I could kiss you, or even just hug you right now,” he says with a shy expression on his features that makes Ian melt every time. “We’ll have plenty of make-up fucking after lights out, though, don’t you worry about that,” he adds, seriously enjoying the expression on Ian’s face when he registers his words, both of them already dreaming of their night together, after days of constant bickering meant they each went to sleep in their own bunk.

As he continues to stare into the eyes of the love of his life, Mickey can’t believe what idiots they’ve been. He supposes it’s not the first time and it won’t be the last that misunderstandings between them ensue because they’re not able to talk about their feelings honestly and openly. It’s not like they were ever taught how to do that when they were young. They’ve had to learn from each other, from their experiences together and the feelings that they brought up in each other. At the end of the day, it’s because of Ian that he’s now able to say, while looking straight in his eyes, sincerity dripping out of him like it’s the most natural thing in the world, “I love you, Ian.”

And he thinks it might be because of him that Ian can look at him in exactly the same way, with that same sincerity in his voice, tears threatening to spill from his eyes, and say, “I love you too, Mick. Always.”


End file.
